The Cat used to brag to all the guys
Because he won first place for most lives.
Then the frog said with glee,
"Not more have you than me,
I croak every night…I win the prize!"
Like a cat,
I've nine times to die —
and love has taken seven.
Once,
when you said my name like it was a question.
Twice,
when you answered it with silence.
Thrice,
when you loved someone else
in front of me
like I was made of stone
instead of soul.
I keep returning —
from wreckage,
from wreck,
from wreck again.
You don't know
how many lives I’ve lost
just staying alive
next to you.
And still —
I come back,
tail flicking,
heart limping,
eyes full of the same soft hope
that kills me every time.
Eight.
That’s when you smiled
and didn’t mean it.
Nine…
Well, nine is today.
And I’m still here.
Still breathing.
Still breaking beautifully
in front of you.
So tell me —
When a cat runs out of lives,
what does she do?
Does she finally sleep?
Or does she
learn how to die
without anyone
noticing?
Be on sensory alert and always stay curious.
Speak out against wrongs and what makes you furious.
Use caution when out on the street.
Don't just rub up on any one you meet.
Stay finicky about any thing you eat..
Pay close attention to your hygiene,
always keep those front paws clean..
If you want to live those nine lives, better
find time to exercise..
When your energy is feeling zapped it's
okay to curl up and take that nap..
Fu#king hell, I can’t hear - these screaming shells, this banging everywhere!
Jesus Christ I can’t even see the enemy over there!
Lock and load, squeeze the trigger and go these streets of brick and rubble, no cover or safety anywhere!
I can’t see or hear or be a fighter in this hell, what the hell am I doing here?
The thunder bangs, machine gun rounds, smoke and screaming everywhere..
Trapped between these walls the Tiger Tank seals the exit hole, I’ve emptied my gun on steel - the gunner turns his sights on me. Have I used up all nine lives… I watch his barrel turn, this god damn broken ankle hurts…
Oh my Jesus Christ..
…this is the end of me!
Nine little kittens, each with nine lives!
It's a surprise how each of them thrives.
Two nearly drowned in the pool next door:
one caught between an old attic floor.
Two were trapped in a box overnight;
two got abscesses in a catfight.
Another fell down off a high roof;
the last just missed a horse's huge hoof.
More lives to go! This legend's foolproof!
May 11, 2021
9 lines
9 syllables per line
Perhaps you were too, when just a lad.
One thing told about cats made me glad.
When I learned the truth, I was sad.
We did see road kill, but seldom cats.
Whenever we would see a dead cat,
We would say, "That must be number nine".
"Could we imitate cats and live long?"
We did not argue with the grownups,
But we doubted such longevity.
050921cjPSCtest, A Time For Nine, Michelle Faulkner PS Syllable Counter; 9 Lines, 9 syllables p/Line, Word nine in Title
Nine lives my rear
Just one too short
Never again we say
Then a kitten appears
So tiny and playful
Lively lovely soft
Easy to deny the end
Again over again
We know the pain to be
But bond without fail
Sorting through the photos
Recall not the sad dying
But the joy of a life
Gifts of mice and warm laps
Laughing at (not with)
Earnest battles with shadows
Nine lives
Flowing nine ways
With every life
Flowing one way
Nine lives
Running nine miles
While giving a life
To every mile
Nine lives
Fetching many tunes
from many flows
With each flow
Running through
Every mile
With a song.
My thoughtful vet phoned to say that my cat was not dead, just asleep, permanently.
Written 5th April 2018
For Epigram contest sponsored by Deborah Guenthar Beachboard
He stares at his liquor bottle, and remembers the time
he sacrificed his life to the ocean depths;
a dolphin steadily rushed him to the shallows,
then allowed the evening currents to carry him to the shores.
That night he erased the X he had put on his calendar;
the day he was to die.
A few weeks back, he had tied a noose round his neck;
he let go the chair, only for the rope to cut.
"Am I cursed?!" he shouted.
He wondered whether Fate kept him alive,
to let him chew on the memories of his Ex,
which hurt like hell.
One fortnight, he even ate a lot of peanuts,
forgetting that it’s only in his dreams he was seriously
allergic to them.
He’s really eager to die,
but death is always shying away from him;
existence is a riddle he isn’t in the mood to respond to….
Date of Entry: 25/08/2017
================
When Duke arrives,
don't be around...
No cat survives,
when Duke arrives.
Need all nine lives?
Don't make a sound!
When Duke arrives -
don't be around.
================
I stand alone on guard
Upon this ancient wall
I see the city's now aflame
Rome has raised
its final curtain call
This world will never be the same
The Goths have crested
The seventh hill
They killed my son and my wife
I guard nothing
But I'm standing 'Still'
Until they come to take my life
I do not know
What the future yearns
Will there be another Rome?
And will it last
"Till I return
To once more call it home
And will it make
The same mistakes
To cause the same collapse
To rise again
Until it breaks
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
By Jerrius Curtius Minimus
She gasps in shallow puffs; eyes half – lit
Thick fur once ebon littering the floor
With a belly that dangled like a lump of yarn,
On a vicious night when stars grew still.
Candy used to greet me, wagging short tail
A ‘meow’ strengthening me through rough days
Pouncing on my lap, she always got her whims
Like extra tuna and balls to play hide-and –seek.
Slowly, a feline gait lost its usual prance
Went through her pain, as she did with mine.
Had a few mishaps before, yet Candy prevailed
A tough bobtail gifted with lucky streaks.
While she looked at me with a fading glimpse
My heart bore the holes, why now?
Aren’t cats supposed to have nine lives
When they told me, Candy had to rest.
As she whimpered her deepest last,
I couldn’t bear the cry, the whiplash.
Hugging the urn where she now lays,
The ninth was ours, in soul and remembrances.
Elegy Form Contest of Broken Wings
11/14/2013
nette onclaud
Safe to say there are never too many cats,
Meowing to say hello greeting you at the door;
Stepping silently, jumping all around snuggling on the couch;
Nine lives I am told? The chances they take!
Climbing trees, in and out of situations with ease;
They do what they want and they fear nothing;
Dodging cars! Always a kiss away on the street;
Content to roam until they finally find a home
We fall for those eyes that hold 9 lives.
Nine lives are bestowed upon a cat to live,
In this world full of danger we travel through.
None may escape the final time appointed to them,
Even the cat has it's last moment to breathe.
Living a life of adventure, demands some extra chances,
It's the curious cat, trapped, who really needs it.
Vain cats cleaning themselves on a slim, lofty ledge.
Excitable cats trying to catch the mysterious red dot.
Silly cats flipping their tails at a dog pack.
For the "Nine" contest.
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